A 5.4% surge Friday on the Nasdaq Composite Index, coupled with optimism that the U.S. election deadlock is nearer to a conclusion, helped push the FTSE higher. But with little new news entering the market, the FTSE edged lower as Wall Street failed to build on its early gains.

Investors followed the U.S. trend Friday of buying into recently beaten-down stocks. Chip makers and software firms advanced.
ARM Holdings
added 20.5 pence, or 3.6%, to 588.5 pence, while
Sage Group
rose 17 pence, or 4%, to 425 pence. Even
Sema Group
, which fell 44% on Friday following a profit warning, increased 20 pence, or 5.8%, to 366 pence.